Christopher Herndon IV (born February 23, 1996) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

and was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the fourth round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Early life

Herndon was born with postaxial

polydactyly Polydactyly is a birth defect that results in extra fingers or toes. The hands are more commonly involved than the feet. Extra fingers may be painful, affect self-esteem, or result in clumsiness. It is associated with at least 39 genetic mut ...

and had two of his twelve fingers surgically removed shortly after birth. Herndon attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also the ...

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 15 miles northeast of Atlanta city limits. According to the 2010 census, the population was 9,116, while in 2020, the population increased to 17,209. Norcross is part of the Atlanta metropol ...

College career

Herndon attended and played

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

from 2015 to 2017. During his collegiate career, he recorded 86 receptions for 1,048 receiving yards and seven receiving

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

College statistics

Professional career

New York Jets

The

selected Herndon in the fourth round with the 107th overall pick in the

. Herndon was the sixth tight end drafted in 2018. On May 21, 2018, the Jets signed Herndon to a four-year, $3.17 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $711,364. Throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, Herndon competed to be the starting

against Eric Tomlinson, Clive Walford, Neal Sterling, and

Jordan Leggett Jordan Kristopher Leggett (born January 31, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He was selected by the New York J ...

. Head coach

Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head coach ...

named Herndon the fourth tight end on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Tomlinson, Sterling, and Leggett. He made his professional regular season debut in the Jets’ season-opening 48–17 win at the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. In Week 2, Herndon earned his first career start and caught his two passes for 30-yards to mark the first receptions of his career during a 20–12 loss against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. On October 14, 2018, Herndon caught two passes for 56 receiving yards and scored his first career touchdown during a 42–34 win against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in Week 6. Herndon caught his first career touchdown reception on a 32-yard pass from fellow rookie

Sam Darnold Sam Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans football, USC Trojans, winn ...

during the third quarter. In Week 12, Herndon caught a season-high seven receptions for 57-yards during a 27–13 loss against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. On December 23, 2018, he caught six passes for a season-high 82 receiving yards and scored a touchdown as the Jets lost 44–38 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in Week 16. Herndon gradually became the Jets’ primary receiving tight end during the season and surpassed Neal Sterling and Jordan Leggett on the depth chart. He finished the season as the Jets second-leading receiver behind

Robby Anderson Robbie Chosen (born Robby Anderson; May 9, 1993), previously known as Robbie Anderson and briefly Chosen Anderson, is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at Temple Owls football, Temple ...

with 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. He finished first among all rookie tight ends in receptions and touchdowns and second in receiving yards. He was named to Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team, becoming the fourth Jets tight end to receive this award, joining Johnny Mitchell (1992),

Anthony Becht Anthony G. Becht (born August 8, 1977) is an American professional American football, football coach, broadcaster and former player who is the head coach of the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (2024), United Football League ( ...

(2000), &

Jace Amaro Jace Jordan Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, earning unanimous All-American honor ...

(2014). Herndon was suspended the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL's policy and program on substances of abuse. He was reinstated from suspension on October 7, 2019, and activated prior to Week 7. On November 12, 2019, Herndon was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after a season ending injury.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 31, 2021, the Jets traded Herndon and a sixth-round

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

pick to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

for a 2022 fourth-round pick.

New Orleans Saints

On August 3, 2022, Herndon signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. On August 23, 2022, he was released. He was suspended for eight games on November 16, 2022.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herndon, Chris 1996 births American football tight ends Living people Players of American football from Norcross, Georgia Norcross High School alumni Miami Hurricanes football players New York Jets players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players